Peer-to-peer video on demand techniques

ABSTRACT

Techniques for delivering video-on-demand content via peer-to-peer connections are provided. A video-on-demand distribution service maintains associations of viewer devices that have specific video-on-demand content. As new viewer devices, which lack the specific video-on-demand content, make requests for the specific video-on-demand content from the video-on-demand distribution system, the video-on-demand distribution system identifies a peer-to-peer viewer device from which the specific video-on-demand content may be acquired via a peer-to-peer transaction. Video-on-demand content sources are identified by comparing distances between the geographical location of the requestor device and geographical locations of devices of the plurality of viewer devices to a distance threshold. A first portion of a first item of video on demand content is obtained from source viewer device and a second portion of the first item of video on demand content is obtained from the video distribution system. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/399,582 filed Apr. 5, 2006, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This application relates to media processing, and more specifically totechniques for distributing video on demand (VOD) content via P2Ptechniques.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Video on demand (VOD) continues to proliferate. Consumers are adjustingto the capability of receiving content on demand without specificallyacquiring a physical product from a store or from a mail-order service.Typically, the acquired physical media is then played on a device at theleisure of the consumers. But, consumers are rapidly learning thatvideos of movies can be dynamically delivered to their viewingenvironments without the need to acquire a recording medium (e.g.,Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), etc.) and subsequently manuallyinterfacing the recording medium to a media player (e.g., DVD player,etc.). Thus, when a consumer desires to view a movie or video theconsumer can interface with services within their own viewingenvironments using remote control devices and dynamically acquire andplay the desired media over a network. This technology posessignificantly challenges to the video rental markets and their existingbusiness models.

One challenge for VOD technology is that a particular piece of contentmay be overwhelmingly popular or may be desired at roughly the same timeand same day by a variety of concurrently requesting viewers. When thisoccurs, the distributor of the content is likely to experiencesignificant bandwidth challenges and the viewers are likely toexperience unacceptable or undesirable delays in acquiring their desiredcontent. This is a frequent challenge with VOD delivery services becausea centralized distribution point can quickly become overloaded withrequests for popular or newly released content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of method to distribute video on demand (VOD)content, according to an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of another method to distribute VOD content,according to an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a method for peer-to-peer (P2P) delivery of VODcontent, according to an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is diagram of a VOD distribution system, according to an exampleembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example network architecture for devices,machines, services, systems, and instructions to interact and performany one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to anexample embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example machine architecture within which aset of instructions for causing the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies discussed herein may be executed, according to anexample embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of an embodiment of the present disclosure. It will beevident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosuremay be practiced without these specific details.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of method 100 for distributing video on demand (VOD)content, according to an example embodiment of the disclosure. Themethod 100 (hereinafter VOD distribution service) is implemented in amachine-accessible and readable medium and is accessible over a network.The network may be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired andwireless.

In an embodiment, the VOD distribution service is implemented over anetwork as a server for a cable or satellite television provider or as aserver for a content provider, such as Home Box Office (HBO), Showtime,and the like. The VOD distribution service interacts with viewers viaremote control devices of the viewers, when the viewers select VODcontent for consumption on their set-top boxes (STB's) and subsequentviewing on their televisions. Some aspects or features of the VODdistribution service do not directly interact with the viewers; ratherother services on the viewers STB's interact with the VOD distributionservice and with other viewer STB's in the background and unbeknownst tothe viewers. These interacts are described more completely herein andbelow as processing associated with the VOD distribution service. Theprocessing of any particular STB for these interactions is discussedwith FIG. 3 below.

With this context, the processing of the VOD distribution service is nowdiscussed with reference to the FIG. 1. Accordingly, at 110, the VODdistribution service receives a request for VOD content from arequestor. That is, a requester of viewer uses a remote control deviceor other input device to communicate over the network with the VODdistribution service that a specific piece of VOD content is desired bythe viewer (requester).

In connection with the request, at 120, the VOD distribution serviceidentifies a geographical location associated with the requestor.According to an embodiment, at 121, the geographical location may bedetermined in response to an Internet Protocol (IP) address of therequestor or in response to a billing address or device profileassociated with an account and account information of the requestor. Thegeographical location permits the VOD distribution service tointelligently determine how the specific VOD content requested may beoptimally delivered to the requester.

At 130, the VOD distribution service uses the request for the VODcontent and the geographical location of the requester, to search anindex for other viewers that already have the VOD content and that arein proximity to the geographical location of the requester. Theproximity consideration may be based on a threshold value. For example,a specific viewer having the VOD content may be considered in proximityto the requester if the geographical location of the requestor is within500 miles of the specific viewer, within the same region (Midwest,southeast, northwest, etc.), within the same state, within the samecountry, etc. Thus proximity is resolved based on configured or desiredthreshold values.

The index includes associations between VOD content and geographicallocations of STB's for viewers that have the VOD content. The VODdistribution service uses a request for VOD content and a geographicallocation of the requestor to search the index and find matches of one ormore other viewers that can service or supply the desired VOD content tothe requestor over a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection between a servicingSTB of a viewer to a STB of the requestor.

At 140, the VOD distribution service instructs or informs the requestorthat the desired VOD content may be acquired from one or more of theother viewers that conform to the search criteria used by the VODdistribution service when searching the index. So, the VOD distributionservice does not have to identify a single viewer that can service therequest for the VOD content; rather, the VOD distribution service mayalso identify a list (perhaps even a prioritized list) of viewers thatmay service the request.

According to an embodiment, at 141, the VOD distribution service mayalso distribute a license key to the requestor. The license key is usedto decrypt and play the VOD content. It may be provided if the requestorpays for the VOD content. In some cases, the viewers that are used toservice the VOD content directly to the requestor may not possess thelicense key to play the desired VOD content. So, STB's of viewers may beused as distribution points unbeknownst to the viewers and in a mannerthat the viewers may not even possess the license key to view the VODcontent that their STB's have and are distributing.

In an embodiment, at 150, the VOD distribution service may also recordbilling events for the requester if the VOD is actually acquired anddownloaded to a STB of the requestor. In other words, if a requestorcontacts a servicing viewer's STB for the desired content after beinginstructed to do so by the VOD distribution service, and does in factreceive the desired VOD content, then the servicing viewer's STB maysend an event notification to the VOD distribution service. The VODdistribution service uses the event to record a billing entry for therequestor. So, the requestor may be billed when the requestor actuallyreceives the VOD content for viewing and not just when the VOD contentis requested.

At 160, the VOD distribution service facilitates the P2P connectionbetween the requester and one of the other viewers identified by the VODdistribution service. In other words, each of the viewers and therequestor (who is also a viewer desiring specific VOD content) haveSTB's that include P2P communication services and the VOD distributionservice identifies a specific viewer for which the P2P communicationservice of the requestor may use to contact the specific P2Pcommunication service of that specific viewer. The two P2P services thenengage in a P2P connection of dialogue where the requestor receives thedesired VOD content.

In some cases, at least some of the viewers initially acquire the VODcontent for distribution from the VOD distribution service. That is, at170, the VOD distribution service pushes the VOD content to one or moreof the viewers in advance of any request being made for that VOD contentby the requestor. The extent of this activity may be driven by policy.So, the VOD distribution service may identity a newly released movie asa potential popular piece of VOD content and may actually pre-seed thenetwork by selecting specific viewers and their STB's to receive themovie. Then, when the announcement is made that the movie is available,requesters and even some of the seed viewers may acquire the movie fromone another or in some cases from their selves. This alleviates andheads off any potential bandwidth challenges that may have ensued ifprophylactic seeding and P2P techniques were not used.

In some cases, at 171, the initially seeded content may be encrypted toaccess or play of the VOD content is not achieved by any of viewers usedfor the seeding. Decryption is possible with license keys that may stillbe centrally distributed by the VOD distribution service with littleconcern of bandwidth challenges, since the key will be of significantlyless data size then the VOD content.

In some embodiments, the VOD content does not have to be contentexclusively delivered and sold by the VOD distribution service. That is,viewers may create their own communities and provide access to their ownhome videos or pictures to selective other viewers. The access andsecurity related to this sharing may be managed by the VOD distributionservice. So, one viewer may be granted access to personalized videoand/or pictures of another viewer and the VOD distribution service mayfacilitate the communication between the two, and then the two mayengage in P2P communications to share content. This may be expanded suchthat an entire home network of one viewer may be shared and exposed in aP2P fashion with another viewer or group of viewers.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of another method 200 to distribute VOD content,according to an example embodiment of the disclosure. The method 200(hereinafter referred to as “content delivery service”) is implementedin a machine-accessible and readable medium and is operational over anetwork. The network may be wired, wireless, or a combination of wiredand wireless. In an embodiment, the content delivery service presents analternative to the processing of the VOD content delivery servicerepresented by the method 100 of the FIG. 1.

The processing of the VOD distribution service represented by the method100 of the FIG. 1 largely presented a single transaction that may occurbetween a requesting viewer with the VOD distribution service and theresulting P2P communication or facilitation, where the requesting viewerobtains desired VOD content from another viewer in a P2P transactionwith that other viewer. The content delivery service is also capable ofthis processing but is presented from a more global management position,where the content delivery service generates and manages P2P indexes andservices a plurality of requests for VOD content.

Accordingly, at 210, the content delivery service initially generates anindex to identify VOD content and viewers having specific VOD content.The index initially may include identifiers for viewers and their STB's.Other profile information may also identify a geographical location foreach of the STB's. Thus, at 211, the content delivery service retainsgeographical profile information for each STB within the index.

After the index is generated, it is regularly updated in a dynamic andreal time fashion. Updates reflect when new STB's and viewers are added,deleted, or geographically moved. Updates also occur when viewers areadded or deleted. Frequent updates occur to associated VOD content asbeing available on specific STB's as the VOD content is distributed tothe viewers.

At 220, the content delivery service manages the index to supplyidentities of STB's to requesters of specific VOD content. The identitymay be an IP address that a requestor can use to establish a P2Pconnection with a particular STB for purposes of acquiring desired VODcontent. According to an embodiment, at 221, the identities of the STB'smay be resolved by comparing the geographical locations of STB'sassociated with the requesters to the geographical profile informationassociated with the STB's in the index. This may be done usingthresholds to resolve an optimal proximity between requesters andavailable STB's that have the desired VOD content that the requestorsseek. Examples of this were discussed above with the VOD distributionservice represented by the method 100 of the FIG. 1.

In an embodiment, at 222, the content delivery service may alsodistribute licensing keys used to decrypt and play the specific VODcontent being requested. So, some STB that house and distribute VODcontent may not possess the proper licensing key, such that the viewerassociated with that STB can view the VOD content. Stated another way,viewers and their STB's may be used as P2P distributors unbeknownst tothe viewers and even if know to the viewers, those viewers could notview the VOD content without first acquiring a proper licensing ordecryption key from the content delivery service.

It is noted that the content delivery service may pre-seed or populatethe network with VOD content even before any specific request is madefor that VOD content. Examples of this were discussed above with themethod 100 of the FIG. 1. It is also noted that the content deliveryservice may in some cases elect to distribute requested VOD contentdirectly to a requestor. This may be done when the bandwidth drawpermits or policy permits. So, the content delivery service may itselfdistribute some of the VOD content in response to a request. In othercases, the content delivery service pre-seeds or populates the networkby pushing the VOD content to specific STB's in advance of any announcedrelease of the VOD content or any specific request for that VOD content.In yet more situations, the content delivery service identifies a STBfor a requestor to directly acquire desired VOD content via a P2Pconnection or communication session.

At 230, the content delivery service facilitates P2P communicationbetween one of the STB's identified from the index and the requesters.That is, each STB of the network includes P2P communication services,and the content delivery service provides a key or IP address thatpermits a requesting STB to directly connect with the P2P communicationservices of a target or servicing STB, which has the desired VODcontent. The content delivery service facilitates and provides theinformation that permits the P2P connection to occur.

According to an embodiment, at 231, the content delivery service mayalso instruct a number of the STB's to remove specific VOD content inresponse to policy evaluations. That is, the content delivery servicemay manage the lifecycle of the VOD content as it exists on the STB'sand may instruct the STB's to remove the VOD content when it isappropriate to do so. This prevents VOD content from lingering too longin any particular location.

In a similar manner, the content delivery service may in some casescrawl the network to acquire information about STB's and the VOD contentthat they have stored as well as space utilization and available of eachof the STB's. This information may be consumed by the content deliveryservice to perform other management operations and used for decidingwhich STB to use for distributing VOD content.

At 240, the content delivery service tracks events received fro theSTB's to indicate which of the requestors have received their specificVOD content. So, STB's that deliver VOD content to other requestingSTB's may report this information as events to the content deliveryservice. The received events may trigger a variety of automaticprocessing by the content delivery service, such as but not limited to,billing records, usage profiling, etc.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a method 300 for peer-to-peer (P2P) delivery ofVOD content, according to an example embodiment of the disclosure. Themethod 300 is implemented as instructions within in a machine-accessibleand readable medium and is operational over a network. The network maybe wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless. Theinstructions when loaded or uploaded to a machine perform the processingdepicted in FIG. 3. The processing of the instructions reflectinteractions of a set-top box (STB) or other subscriber or viewerdevices that receive VOD content from a VOD content distributionservices, such as the methods 100 and 200 of the FIGS. 1 and 2), andthat directly supply the VOD content to other STB's or requesters in aP2P connection or communication session.

The instructions may be implemented on a removable medium andsubsequently interfaced to a machine where the instructions are uploadedwithin the machine and processed. Alternatively, the instructions may beprefabricated within memory or storage of the machine and loaded forexecution when the machine is initiated or booted. In still anotherarrangement, the instructions may be downloaded from a network storagelocation or other network machine to a target machine on the network andprocessed. In yet another situation, the instructions may be remotelyprocessed over a network on one machine at the instruction and on behalfof another different network machine.

Any STB that participates in the network may process the instructions.Thus, the instructions interact with the VOD distribution service andthe content delivery service represented by the methods 100 and 200 ofthe FIGS. 1 and 2, and the instructions interact with other instances ofthe instructions processing on other STB's over the network. Theinstructions are enabled to communicate with other STB's via a P2Pconnection or communication channel over the network.

At 310, the instructions receive a request for VOD content from arequestor. The requestor is another STB that may be processing anotherinstance of the instructions. Thus, the instructions are designed toprocess in duplicate over the network and to communicate with differentinstances of itself. Prior to receiving the request, the instructionsacquired the VOD content from a VOD server or service, such as the onesdescribed above with respect to the methods 100 and 200 of the FIGS. 1and 2.

At 320, the instructions establish a P2P connection with the requester.That is, the instructions directly connect over the network to therequestor. At 330, the instructions deliver the VOD content to therequestor over the P2P connection.

In some cases, at 331, the instructions ensure that the requestorpresents an access key before the VOD content is delivered from theenvironment of the instructions to the requestor. The access key isacquired by the requestor from the VOD content server or service, suchas the services represented by the methods 100 and 200 of the FIGS. 1and 2. In this manner, the instructions may require some form of accessauthentication before the VOD content is provided over the P2Pconnection to the requestor.

According to an embodiment, at 332, the instructions may also stream theVOD content over the P2P connection to the requester. That is, streamingprotocols may be used to stream the VOD content to the requester. So,the requestor may buffer and play the VOD content on display deviceswithin its environment as the VOD content is streamed from anenvironment of the instructions to the environment of the requester.

In an embodiment, at 333, the instructions may consult a VOD server orservice (such as the services represented by the methods 100 and 200 ofthe FIGS. 1 and 2) before the instructions provide the VOD content tothe requestor. For example, the instructions may send a request foraccess to the VOD server with an identity of the requestor or an accesskey presented by the requestor; in return the VOD server either sends anauthorization or a denial. If authorization is provided, then theinstructions proceed with the P2P connection and deliver the VOD contentto the requester. If authorization is denied, then the instructions maylog the event and terminate the P2P connection with the requester, oreven redirect the requestor to the VOD server to properly purchase thedesired VOD content.

At 340, the instructions send a notification to the VOD content serveronce the VOD content is successfully delivered to the requestor over theP2P connection. This permits the VOD content server to log the fact orevent that the requestor has successfully received the VOD content. Insome cases, if a billing event had not yet been recorded by the VODcontent server, then this notification from the instructions generatesthe processing to produce a billing event for the requestor and anaccount of the requestor.

According to an embodiment, at 341, the instructions may identify avariety of information within the notification that is provided to theVOD content service, such as a date and time that the VOD content wasdelivered to the requester over the P2P connection, the identity of therequestor, an identifier for the VOD content delivered, statisticsindicating the elapsed time and bandwidth associated with completing thetransaction with the requester, and the like.

In an embodiment, at 350, the instructions may also remove the VODcontent in response to instructions received from the VOD contentserver. So, the length of time that the instructions permit the VODcontent to remain within its environment may be determined on demand byinstructions from the VOD content service. Alternatively, the VODcontent server may provide metadata or a policy with the VOD contentthat the instructions enforce and evaluate to determine when it isappropriate to remove the VOD content. The policy may also definecertain access restrictions that the instructions can enforce on itsown.

FIG. 4 is diagram of a VOD distribution system 400, according to anexample embodiment of the disclosure. The VOD distribution system 400 isimplemented within a machine-accessible medium. The VOD distributionsystem 400 implements, among other things, the methods 100 and 200 ofthe FIGS. 1 and 2 and facilitates or interacts with the method 300 ofthe FIG. 3.

The VOD distribution system 400 includes VOD content 401 and a VODcontent distribution service 402. The VOD distribution system 400 mayalso include a VOD index 403. The VOD content 401 resides in memory andwithin a repository that may include a variety of other VOD content 401.The memory may be volatile or non volatile and it may also be fixed orremovable storage. Furthermore, the VOD content distribution service 402may be referred to as a VOD content distribution service element, suchas a server, proxy, gateway, etc. Each of the components of the VODdistribution system 400 and the relationships of the components to STB's410 and 411 will now be discussed in detail.

The VOD content 401 may include material related to televisions shows,documentaries, movies, sporting events, news events, and others. The VODcontent 401 is housed within storage devices or on removable media andsubsequently interfaced to a device that makes it available on thenetwork. Viewers request the VOD content 401 from their localenvironments using their STB's 410 and 411 to contact the VOD contentdistribution service 402.

The VOD content distribution service 402 initially distributes orinjects the VOD content 401 into the network by placing it or deliveringit to one or more first or initial STB's 410. Example processingassociated with the VOD content distribution service 402 was providedabove with the discussion of the methods 100 and 200 of the FIGS. 1 and2.

The VOD content distribution service 402 may pre-seed or pre-populatethe first or initial STB's 410 with the VOD content 401. Alternatively,the VOD content distribution service 402 may inject the VOD content 401after viewers associated with the first or initial STB's 410 make aspecific request for the VOD content 401.

The VOD content distribution service 402 also manages identitiesassociated with the STB's 410 and 411 and the viewers associated withthose STB's 410 and 411. The VOD content distribution service 402 alsokeeps track of which STB's 410 or 411 have which VOD content 401 at anyparticular point in time.

According to an embodiment, the association and information associatedwith the STB's 410 and 411 and the VOD content 401 is maintained in aVOD index.403. The VOD content distribution service 402 generates andmanages the VOD index 403. The VOD index 403 is regularly updated withnew associations, modified associations, and/or deleted associations.The associations may also include geographical profile information forthe STB's 410 and 411, which identify a present or current geographicallocation for each of the STB's 410 and 411.

The VOD content distribution service 402 also processes requests fromviewers (requesters) for specific VOD content 401 after that specificVOD content 401 has been injected into the network and is present on anumber of the STB's 410.

When a request for VOD content 401 is received, the VOD contentdistribution service 402 determines one or more specific viewers orSTB's 410 that can service the request by delivering the VOD content 401to the requesting viewers or STB's 411 with a P2P connection.Essentially, the VOD content distribution service 402 is a manager ofwhere and how requestors may best or optimally acquire desired VODcontent 401. One technique for doing this is to perform a geographicproximity search on the STB's 410 that have the desired VOD content 401when a requesting STB 411 at a given or known geographical locationdynamically or in real time requests the VOD content 401 from the VODcontent distribution service 402.

The VOD content 401 is then delivered to a requesting STB 411 from asource STB 410 via a P2P connection 413.

According to an embodiment, the VOD content distribution service 402 mayalso initially populate or seed the first or initial STB's 410 with theVOD content 401 in an encrypted format. The encrypted format isdecrypted and playable with a license or access key. The key may bedelivered to the requestors or requesting STB's 411 from the VOD contentdistribution service 402 when the specific VOD content 401 is requested.Thus, some first or initial STB's 410 may not even have the key to playthe VOD content 401 and may function solely as a distribution point forthe VOD content distribution service 402.

In an embodiment, the VOD content distribution service 402 may alsoprovide policies to be dynamically enforced by the STB's 410 that haveand distribute the VOD content 401 or may globally enforce policies andcommunicate instructions to each of the STB's 410. For example, the VODcontent distribution service 402 may evaluate a policy and determinethat the VOD content 401 is to be removed from one, all, or some subsetof the STB's 410 and 411 and issue instructions to those STB's 410 and411 to remove the VOD content 401. Policies about reporting may also beused between the STB's 410 and 411 and the VOD content distributionservice 402.

It is also noted that once a requesting STB 411 receives specificdesired VOD content 401, that receiving STB 411 may now become a P2Pdistribution point over the network for other STB's 410 or 411 that maysubsequently request the same VOD content 401.

FIGS. 5-6 are now presented for purposes of providing an example networkarchitecture and machine architecture for which devices can interact toachieve the teachings and techniques presented herein. This layout andconfiguration is presented for purposes of illustration only and is notintended to limit the embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example network architecture 500 for devices,machines, services, systems, and instructions to interact and performany one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to anexample embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 may also be viewed as an example multimedia distribution system500 that is implemented in accordance with at least one embodiment ofthe present disclosure. As shown, the system 500 includes a multimediacontent provider 502, a set-top box 504, a display device 506, aplurality of multimedia content sources, such as cable television source508, satellite television source 510, and IP network-based source 512.

In the illustrated embodiment, the content provider 502 and the set-topbox 504 are connected via a network 514, where the network 514 caninclude a cable television distribution network, a satellitedistribution network, a broadcast television distribution network, adata packet-based computer network (e.g., an Ethernet network), and thelike. Likewise, the content sources 508, 510, and 512 may be connectedvia one or more networks to the content provider 502.

As shown, the content provider 502 can include one or more interfaces518, 520, and 522 to interface with the content sources 508, 510, and512, respectively, and an interface 524 to interface with the set-topbox 504 via the network 514. The interfaces 518, 520, 522, and 524 mayinclude any of a variety of interfaces, such as a coaxial cableinterface, a wireless interface for receiving satellite or broadcasttransmissions, or a data packet network interface, such as an Ethernetinterface or a router. The IP Network based source 512 is shown to beconnected to a computer 515 over a network 513 (e.g., Internet) therebyproviding a communication path between a user operating the set-top box504 and a user operating the computer 515. The content provider 502further may include an EPG generation module 526 and a multimediacontent distribution module 528. The modules 526 and 528 may beimplemented as software, hardware, firmware, or combinations thereof. Toillustrate, the content provider 502 may include a memory 536 (e.g.,static random access memory (SRAM)) and one or more processors 538,where the modules 526 and 528 may be implemented in part or in whole asexecutable instructions stored in the memory 536 and executed by theprocessor 538 to perform the techniques described herein.

As also shown, the set-top box 504 may include an interface 540 forinterfacing with the content provider 502 via the network 514, a controlinterface 542 to receive user input and commands, (e.g., via a remotecontrol 544, a button panel 561, a microphone 562) and a displayinterface 546 to interface with the display device 506. The interface540 may include any of a variety of appropriate interfaces, such as acoaxial cable interface, a wireless interface to send and receivewireless transmissions, or a data packet-based network interface, suchas an Ethernet interface. The control interface 542 may include any of avariety of interfaces, such as an infrared interface, a wirelessinterface, or the button panel 561. The remote control 544 is shown toinclude a microphone 545 for receiving voice commands and the set-topbox 504 is also shown to include a microphone 562 for receiving voicecommands.

The set-top box 504 is further shown to be connected to a storage device566 (e.g., hard disk, compact disk, floppy, universal serial bus key,etc.) for storing files, a printer 568 for printing files, and a network564 (e.g., home network). The network 564, in one embodiment, mayconnect the set-top box 504 to a computer 574 that is connected to aninternet protocol phone 572, a storage device 570 for storing electronicfiles, and a printer 576. The set-top box 504 further may include aprocessing module 558, a receiving module 556, and a communicationmodule 551. The processing module 558, receiving module 556, andcommunication module 551 may be implemented as hardware, software,firmware, or combinations thereof. To illustrate, the set-top box 504may include a memory 554 and one or more processors 552, where one orboth of modules 548 and 550 are implemented as executable instructionsstored in memory 554 and executed by the processor 552 to implementtechniques described herein. The memory is further shown to includerules 555 that may be utilized to control the use of images that may becaptured from content that is displayed on the display device 506. Forexample the rules 555 may embodied as a digital rights managementlicense that may be distributed with content from the content source508, 510, and 512. As is well known in the art, the license may includerules 555 that may restrict the use of the associated content.

In a particular embodiment, the content provider 502 receives datarepresentative of multimedia channels from each of the different contentsources 508, 510, and 512, and provides data representative of at leasta subset of the multimedia channels to the set-top box 504 forprocessing and display at the display device 506 and/or output via anaudio device (not shown). In one embodiment, the content provider mayinclude a content module 509 that communicates data that includescontent and a control module 511 that may communicate data that includescontrol information (e.g., digital license) that may include a rule thatrestricts the use of associated content. Moreover, in a particularembodiment, the content provider 502 may provide data representative ofan electronic programming guide (EPG) 560 to the set-top box 504 forprocessing by the processing module 558 and for navigation by a user viathe control interface 542 and the processing module 558. As describedherein, the EPG 560, in one embodiment, represents a unified EPGincluding listings for the multimedia channels provided by two or morecontent sources that provide multimedia channels to the content provider502. To illustrate, in a particular embodiment, the EPG 560 represents anavigable program guide or user interface whereby a user, via the remotecontrol 544 or other input device, can direct the processing module 550to navigate between multimedia channels by selecting an icon or othergraphical representation of the desired channel as represented by agraphical display of the EPG 560. The EPG 560 may combinerepresentations of all of the multimedia channels from different contentsources in a single list or different lists for different contentsources may be displayed concurrently by the EPG 560. Moreover,multimedia channels may be organized within the EPG 560 based on any ofa variety of characteristics, such as by the program content of themultimedia channels, where the program content describes the genre orcategorization of the video/audio program represented by the multimediachannel. Examples of various genres or categories include a “comedy”genre, an “action” genre, a “family” genre or “children” genre, a“romance” genre, a “science-fiction” genre, and the like.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example machine architecture within which aset of instructions for causing the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies discussed herein may be executed, according to anexample embodiment of the disclosure.

Accordingly, FIG. 6 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine inthe example form of a computer system 600 within which a set ofinstructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, may be executed.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in server-client network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switchor bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines thatindividually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructionsto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 600 includes a processor 602 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU) a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both),a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, which communicate with eachother via a bus 608. The computer system 600 may further include a videodisplay unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode raytube (CRT)). The computer system 600 also includes an alphanumeric inputdevice 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 614 (e.g., amouse), a disk drive unit 616, a signal generation device 618 (e.g., aspeaker) and a network interface device 620.

The disk drive unit 616 includes a machine-readable medium 622 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 624)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. The software 624 may also reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 604 and/or within the processor 602during execution thereof by the computer system 600, the main memory 604and the processor 602 also constituting machine-readable media.

The software 624 may further be transmitted or received over a network626 via the network interface device 620.

While the machine-readable medium 622 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals.

The above description is illustrative, and not restrictive. Many otherembodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe above description. The scope of embodiments should therefore bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R §1.72(b) and will allowthe reader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of the technicaldisclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

In the foregoing description of the embodiments, various features aregrouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting that the claimed embodiments have more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Description of the Embodiments, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate exemplary embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: distributing, by a processing system including a processor, a first item of video on demand content to equipment of a viewer of a plurality of viewers for storage on the equipment of the viewer without providing a viewer notification, wherein the distributing of the first item of video on demand content is not based on a requestor device requesting the video on demand content; generating, by the processing system, an index of equipment of the plurality of viewers comprising indicia of geographical locations of the equipment of the plurality of viewers and indicia of a plurality of video on demand content items stored thereon; receiving, by the processing system, a request for the first item of video on demand content from the requestor device, wherein the first item of video on demand content comprises personalized video content; identifying, by the processing system, a geographical location of the requestor device; searching, by the processing system, the index of the equipment of the plurality of viewers to identify the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content and determining when the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content is within a proximity to the geographical location of the requestor device, by comparing distances between the geographical location of the requestor device and geographical locations of the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content against a predetermined distance threshold; providing, by the processing system, an access key to the requestor device, wherein access by the requestor device to a first portion of the first item of video on demand content stored by the equipment of the viewer is based on a presentation of the access key by the requestor device; instructing, by the processing system, the requestor device to obtain the first portion of the first item of video on demand content from the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content in response to determining when the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content is within the proximity to the geographical location of the requestor device and responsive to the presentation of the access key by the requestor device; instructing, by the processing system, the requestor device to obtain a second portion of the first item of video on demand content from the processing system; and instructing, by the processing system, the equipment of the viewer to remove the first item of video on demand content from storage in response to policy evaluation.
 2. The method of claim 1, comprising facilitating, by the processing system, a peer-to-peer connection between the requestor device and the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content to deliver the first portion of the first item of video on demand content to the requestor device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying of the geographical location of the requestor device is based on a billing address of the requestor device, the method further comprising recording, by the processing system, a billing event for the requestor device responsive to the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content reporting that the first item of video on demand content was delivered to the requestor device, wherein the access key is selected from a group consisting of a license key, an encryption key and an IP address.
 4. The method of claim 1 comprising encrypting, by the processing system, the first item of video on demand content, wherein access to play the first item of video on demand content is enabled by way of a license key distributed by the processing system to the requestor device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the access key facilitates access to a service of the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content, and wherein the distributing of the first item of video on demand content comprises pre-selecting, by the processing system, the equipment of the viewer of the plurality of viewers responsive to the first item of video on demand content becoming available, wherein the pre-selecting occurs before the first item of video on demand content is available.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content comprises the requestor device, wherein presence of the video on demand content at the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content is unbeknownst to the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content.
 7. The method of claim 6, comprising selecting, by the processing system, the equipment of the plurality of viewers in response to the geographical location of the requestor device and geographic profile information.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the access key permits the requestor device to directly connect to peer-to-peer communication services of the equipment of the viewer storing the first item of video on demand content.
 9. A machine-readable memory having instructions embedded thereon, the instructions when accessed by a processing system including a processor facilitate performance of operations comprising: receiving a first item of video on demand content without notification, wherein the receiving of the first item of video on demand content is not based on a request from the processing system; receiving a request for the first item of video on demand content from a requestor device, wherein the first item of video on demand content comprises personalized video content and the processing system is selected from a prioritized list of viewer devices to service the request for the first item of video on demand content, wherein the prioritized list of viewer devices is generated by searching a network to identify a plurality of viewers having respective devices storing a plurality of items of video on demand content, including the first item of video on demand content, and being within a proximity to a geographical location of the requestor device determined by comparing distances between the geographical location of the requestor device determined from a billing address and geographical locations of devices of the plurality of viewers against a predetermined distance threshold; receiving an access key from the requestor device; establishing a peer-to-peer connection with the requestor device responsive to the receiving of the access key, wherein delivery of the first item of video on demand content is based on the receiving of the access key from the requestor device; delivering the first item of video on demand content to the requestor device over the peer-to-peer connection, wherein a second portion of the first item of video on demand content is delivered to the requestor device from a video distribution service; and removing the first item of video on demand content from storage in response to a policy received from the video distribution service.
 10. The machine-readable memory of claim 9, wherein delivering further comprises streaming the first item of video on demand content to the requestor device during the peer-to-peer connection.
 11. The machine-readable memory of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise requesting confirmation from the video on demand content server before delivering the first item of video on demand content to the requestor device over the peer-to-peer connection and wherein a location of the requestor device is a geographical location determined in response to the billing address for the requestor device for video on demand service.
 12. The machine-readable memory of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprising pre-selecting a viewer device to store the first item of video on demand content before the first item of video on demand content is available, to store the first item of video on demand content when the first item of video on demand content becomes available.
 13. The machine-readable memory of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprising encrypting the first item of video on demand content, wherein access to play the first item of video on demand content is enabled by way of a license key distributed to the requestor device.
 14. The machine-readable memory of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprising retaining geographic profile information for each viewer of the plurality of viewers, wherein a location of the requestor device is a geographical location determined in response to the billing address for the requestor device for video on demand service.
 15. A system, comprising: a memory that stores executable instructions and having a repository to store video on demand content; and a video on demand distribution service element comprising a processing system including a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the video on demand distribution service element, responsive to executing the instructions, facilitates performance of operations comprising: distributing a first item of video on demand content to a set top box of a viewer without providing a notification, wherein the distributing of the first item of video on demand content is not based on a requesting subscriber device requesting the first item of video on demand content; identifying a plurality of viewers having a plurality of set-top boxes storing a plurality of items of video on demand content; generating an index of a plurality of set top boxes comprising indicia of geographical locations of the plurality of set top boxes and indicia of the plurality of video on demand content items stored thereon, wherein the plurality of set top boxes comprises the set top box of the viewer; managing identities of the plurality of set-top boxes to service a request from the requesting subscriber device for the first item of video on demand content comprising personalized video content; providing an access key to the requesting subscriber device, wherein acquisition of a first portion of the first item of video on demand content is based on a presentation of the access key by the requesting subscriber device; selectively distributing an identity of a set top box of the plurality of set top boxes in response to the request, wherein the identities of a group of set top boxes of the plurality of set top boxes storing the first item of video on demand content and being within a proximity to a geographical location of the requesting subscriber device are determined by comparing distances between the geographical location of the requesting subscriber device and geographical locations of the set-top boxes of the plurality of set top boxes storing the first item of video on demand content against a predetermined distance threshold, and wherein the requesting subscriber device subsequently acquires the first portion of the first item of video on demand content via peer-to-peer exchange with a source set-top box of the plurality of set top boxes in the index, storing the first item of video on demand content and within the proximity to the geographical location of the requesting subscriber device and wherein the requesting subscriber device subsequently acquires a second portion of the first item of video on demand content from the video on demand distribution service element; distributing the second portion of the first item of video on demand content to the requesting subscriber device, responsive to the presentation of the access key by the requesting subscriber device, wherein the first portion of the first item of video on demand content is distributed to the requesting subscriber device from the source set-top box; and distributing a policy to the set top box of the viewer to instruct removing the first item of video on demand content from storage.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise maintaining a video on demand index comprising geographic profile information for each of the plurality of viewers and for the requesting subscriber device that subsequently request the first item of video on demand content, and identifying the first item of video on demand content and pre-seeds the set-top-boxes of the plurality of viewers, and wherein the key is one of a license key, an encryption key or an IP address.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise enforcing a retention policy for the first item of video on demand content with each of the set-top-boxes of the plurality of viewers based on a policy supplied with the video on demand content and, in response to the retention policy, instructing the set-top boxes of the plurality of viewers to remove the first item of video on demand content.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise distributing the first item of video on demand content in an encrypted format, and wherein the encrypted format is decrypted with a license key to enable playback of the first item of video on demand content.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein a location of the requesting subscriber device is determined according to a billing address of the requesting subscriber device.
 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise distributing the license key to the requesting subscriber device in response to the request for the first item of video on demand content. 